Tegucigalpa.- Despite the covid-19 pandemic and the scourge of storms Eta and Iota in much of the national territory, the agri-food sector increased its production in 2020 and began 2021 repowering with financing at 5% through the program Agrocredit promoted by President Juan Orlando Hernández.
During his tenure, the Honduran president has focused his efforts on repowering agriculture in Honduras, focusing resources and promoting initiatives that strengthen the agri-food sector.
In this sense, programs such as the Productive Solidarity Bonus, Coffee Bonus, Safe Harvest, Vaccination and Bovine Identification and the massive construction of water harvesters in the Dry Corridor were strengthened and started.
Productive Solidarity Bonus
The Productive Solidarity Bonus program has been established in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG) in order to benefit low-income producers with improved seeds of different categories, fertilizers, fruit trees and others, which lead them to improve productivity. of their crops, thus contributing to the food security of 118,590 families in 17 departments of the country.
In the delivery of the Productive Solidarity Bonus, priority is given to the indigenous population, organized producers and independent producers.
To face this emergency situation, SAG was authorized to contract directly for the purchase of fertilizers, supplies, improved seeds, fruit trees and others, as well as to make other necessary expenses that could be incurred, for the delivery and implementation of the Bond of Productive Solidarity for the first and last planting period of 2020, up to an amount of 200 million lempiras.
Coffee Bonus
With the Coffee Bonus, created by Executive Decree 030-2020, it benefited from the delivery of 300 million lempiras to 91,778 aromatic producers in 220 municipalities of the country.
To make this delivery effective, 555,399 quintals of fertilizers were provided to coffee growers in the producing areas of 15 departments.
One of the great benefits of the project is the increase in the income of small and medium coffee families, improving productivity by area, with the support of a special bonus for the fertilization of coffee farms.
Likewise, it seeks to benefit small and medium coffee producers to enhance the productivity of the item in Honduras and contribute to their economies affected for five years by the fall in the price of gold beans.
76 percent of the beneficiaries’ farms were geo-referenced.
A total of 24,769 producers were trained in various topics such as soil and foliar analysis, weed control, establishment and management of nurseries, integrated management of pests and diseases in coffee plantations, biosecurity measures, nutrition and fertilization of coffee plantations, socialization of the Agrocrédito program 8.7 and the layout of farms.
This ambitious program also delivered 1,000 motor pumps benefiting 17,600 producers from 340 organizations nationwide.
And 1,000 humidity meters were delivered to benefit 630 organizations, and a total of 17,400 coffee producers were benefited.
Additionally, they were provided with 300 solar dryers that were installed to benefit the same number of producers.
Through Agrocredito, this year the Honduran president makes a financing rate of 5% available to the agri-food sector, and the remaining 3.7% will be subsidized by the Government with funds from the Central Bank of Honduras.
Water harvesters
Added to this are the water harvesters and new irrigation systems that have come to change the way of farming in Honduras, moving from desert areas to the main producers of the country, such as the Dry Corridor, which produces 25 million pounds of vegetables. and fruits monthly.
This is possible thanks to the water harvesters that Inversión Estratégica de Honduras (Invest-H) built in the departments of Intibucá, La Paz, Lempira, Copán and Santa Bárbara in this area, through an investment of 200 million lempiras.
The producers benefited are 1,785 with 400 irrigated hectares that now produce high-value vegetables (chili, tomato), fruit trees (banana) and basic grains throughout the year.
The Water Harvests project contributes to improving the hydrological cycle, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, use of runoff water, food security for the population, and job creation.
Regarding the Safe Harvest program, the Government has made 55 million lempiras available for the distribution of one million biosecurity kits to coffee producer organizations in the 15 departments of the country identified by the Coffee Bonus.
Since the end of 2020 and early this year, SAG has delivered these biosecurity packages to 45,717 coffee producers.
Vaccination and animal identification to repower livestock
Within the framework of the strategy of Fuerza Agropecuaria Honduras, President Juan Orlando Hernández launched on January 14 the Animal Health Sanitary Plan in Support of Small Livestock Farmers Affected by Eta and Iota.
To do this, the SAG-Senasa approved 17 million lempiras, with which the plan that includes the vaccination campaign and identification of 112,000 animals in a period of six months will be developed.
For this program, the Government aims to benefit some 2,500 ranchers in the departments of Cortés, Santa Bárbara, Atlántida, Colón and Yoro
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